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I've fitted a dashcam to my çar but I'm unsure about which fuse to piggyback at the fuse box.
I have a record when stationary function, for want of a better expression.
I have two leads one battery and one accessory. I get that one has to be constantly powered and one only when the ignition is on just not sure which ones to tap.
I had this issue when wiring into my Hyundai Kona EV, I used the wrong fuse and it caused all sorts of bugs and issues in the car. I eventually uploaded car and dash cam details to ChatGPT along with a photo of the fuse board. That gave me detailed instructions along with exact guide to which spare fuse to use. Worked really well.
Is there an "owners" forum for your car model? That's usually a good place to search.
AI will indeed give you an answer, which it will either have stolen from one of the above forums, or completely invented. Either way it will answer with confidence, and you have no real way of knowing which it is.
Usually go for the 12v accessory (old ciggy lighter) fuse.
The owners club is a good shout.👌
Usually go for the 12v accessory (old ciggy lighter) fuse.
Yup, that’s the answer.
Might not be live without the ignition though, varies between manufacturers. IIRC, (and it was a long time ago) there was something a bit clever going on with the electrics in my van which powers pretty much everything down after a while to prevent the battery going flat. I ended up using the ignition fuse itself, which is probably not recommended for reasons(?) but it's been years with no ill effects.
Yep, most modern vehicles have a battery monitoring system that sits in between the batt and the car. It'll withdraw power from various circuits depending on things like time since unlock/door unlatch, instantaneous voltage, whether or not it can detect the key, demand. So using a voltmeter to find the fuse that is "on" when the car is not can be tricky.
I've generally found that with 12v (cigarette lighter) outlets, if they're "on" when the key is out, then the tend to stay on, unlike the USBs next to them. Otherwise if it's a post 2020 car, it'll likely have a modem for the emergency call system and these seem to be always on.
My dashcam had a battery so would work for a while without power - yes my 12v socket stopped. Does OP need a permanent live ? No dashcam on my current van/car but it powers down everything after a few minutes. Handy when camping and have doors open.
Use a multimeter to identify permanent and ignition switched lives. Might be worth fusing the permanent directly off the battery, my van goes into a sleep mode after an hour or so locked up, as soon as you unlock it or try to operate something the voltage jumps back up. It’s something like 1.5v, I only know as I wired in a voltage read out and when camping in it you see the voltage drop out. If it’s a dash cam with a battery it will probably just be designed as a backup and not to go flat a short while after you lock the car twice a day.